A. Field of the Invention
This relates to dilating the nasal cavities so that an individual can breathe with less difficulty. It is portable and will conform to the general shape of a nose. It does not use any auxiliary equipment and is not designed to be connected to a cannula.
B. Prior Art
There are many devices related to nasal dilation including those patents related to nasal dilation and cannulas specifically. Additionally, there are nasal dilators, which dilate internally and those that dilate externally. Examples of the prior art include Ellis U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,188, Strickland, U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,265 and Rittman, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,512. Ellis and Strickland contemplate dilation with a cannula while the Rittman device contemplates a temporary dilation measure without a cannula.
The current device allows permanent dilation and does not incorporate the use of a cannula. The present device can be worn at all times. None of the other prior art has a beveled edge on the inner surface of the device. The beveled edge is necessary to insure a tight, comfortable fit.